STAR ANISE — Restaurant in Derbyshire Dales

I’ve never been so disappointed/angry. My younger brother has a severe PEANUT allergy, the reason we CALLED to put in the order was to ask for what nuts was in the chicken tikka masala and Mohammad said only ‘ cashew and almonds’ we received the order and my brother ate the food we thought didn’t contain PEANUTS. He then proceeded to have an allergic reaction and we immediately called back to ask if it had PEANUTS in it and which we was told the curry then did have peanuts. We later then called back and ask to speak to the manager about how we wasn’t told this contained peanuts when we first asked and placed the order and Mohammad told us the manager is away for 2 weeks and can’t be contacted. WE WAS LIED TO OVER THE PHONE ABOUT IT BY MOHAMMAD. please do NOT order from here if you have allergies as obviously they can’t keep their customers safe. wish 0 stars was possible. also Mohammad was arguing back with us on the phone very unprofessional.

EDIT AFTER THE OWNER REPLIED: I can confirm that we wasn’t told this contained peanuts when we asked over the phone before ordering only ‘ cashews and almonds’ we did ask if the curry can be made without almonds and cashews (FOR SOMEONE WITH A COMPLETE DIFFERENT NUT ALLERGY, MYSELF) they replied with no which then for myself with the different nut allergy decided not to have it where as they explained the chicken tikka masala had only almonds and cashews so i thought it was going to be fine for my younger brother. After the second phone called was made the some of the chicken tikka masala was already consumed as we called back to ask if it contained any other nuts because he was having a reaction which they said it contained peanuts which you didn’t tell us before in the first place. You are to blame as you didn’t inform your customers it contained peanuts, you didn’t promise anything so do not lie. THIS IS...

I came here while visiting family who live close by. They swear by the place and although I wouldn't say my experience was mind blowing I can certainly see why they are regulars here.

The decor is simple and unobtrusive and the layout is intimate without being cramped. We were served promptly throughout our meal and the food arrived in good time once we had ordered.

There was a large group of perhaps 15 or so people also dining while we were there and our waiter made a point of coming to us first and explaining that if we chose from the menu quickly he would ensure that our order made it to the kitchen ahead of the much larger order they were expecting from the other table. This was a nice touch which no doubt saved us from waiting a lot longer for our meals.

The food was very good, plenty of flavour and portion size represented good value for money. Menu choices were as you would expect from any Indian restaurant in the UK, there is nothing avantgarde to surprise you but no glaring omissions either.

The only other point of note is the place does not have a licence to sell alcohol. If this is a blessing or a curse is a matter of opinion I guess but they have no objection to you bringing in wine/beer/soft drinks of your own to accompany your meal. There is an off licence close by should you arrive...

Came to Star Anise on Saturday night as we were staying locally. So glad we booked because it was really busy. The menu was a decent size and had a great selection of dishes as well as chefs specials. The food was absolutely beautiful. We had Sheek Kebab and Chicken Pakora for starters. The Sheekh Kebab was so fresh and tasty and the chicken pakora were soft and tender with a nice crispy batter. Mains were also delicious, we got the Tandoori Garlic Chilli Chicken and Chicken Tikka Korma, both sauces were the perfect consistency, plenty of meat and most importantly full of flavour. Side dishes also very good, Keema naan had plenty of Keema. Overall I couldn't fault it. Much better than some Indian restaurants we have been to in our local area and that's Birmingham which is the "curry capital"! At the end of the night we struggled to get a taxi back to the place we were staying, we were trying for 40 minutes and had no luck. The restaurant kept trying the local taxi companies on our behalf which was kind and one of the waiters also offered to take us back himself which was so lovely and not expected whatsoever! In the end we managed to get an uber but the staff at this restaurant were so friendly and helpful and the food was amazing. Definitely recommend and if we are in Ashbourne again we will be...